Council at Jerusalem
Day 508, Thursday, Jan. 1
Acts 15:1-21
In today’s reading (and tomorrow’s) we read of the Council at Jerusalem, where believers sought to heal one of the first great controversies to face the Christian church.
There were those in the church who believed that following Jesus required converting to Judaism and following Jewish laws. This would require circumcision and following dietary laws, among other things.
Others believed that the law had been fulfilled by Jesus, and Jewish observances were no longer necessary.
In chapter 15 the depth of the disagreement is minimized, with Peter and James both support the mission to the Gentiles. Some of the letters we’ll read later suggest that there was more bitterness to the dispute than we read of here.
However severe the division was, the conclusion was that the gentiles did not have to become Jews. In Peter’s words, “We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we [Jews] are saved, just as they [Gentiles] are.”
One of the important legacies of the Council at Jerusalem was establishing the precedent that divisions within the church are best addressed by councils that include people from across the body of believers, with people from different places and also with different perspectives on the Christian faith.
This was the model for the great ecumenical councils (like the Council of Nicea that gave us the Nicene Creed), and also the model for churches like ours that hold councils or conferences to make the most important decisions.

-Rev. Mark Fleming

Thursday meditation

Psalms 52:1-9
Why do you boast of evil, you mighty hero? Why do you boast all day long, you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God? You who practice deceit, your tongue plots destruction; it is like a sharpened razor. You love evil rather than good, falsehood rather than speaking the truth. You love every harmful word, you deceitful tongue!
Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin: He will snatch you up and pluck you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living. The righteous will see and fear; they will laugh at you, saying, “Here now is the man who did not make God his stronghold but trusted in his great wealth and grew strong by destroying others!”
But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever. For what you have done I will always praise you in the presence of your faithful people. And I will hope in your name, for your name is good.

Prayer focus
On this first day of 2026 we pray for wisdom. Guide us in our lives through the year. We also pray for the annual conferences and the General Conference that will meet this year that wise decisions be made for your church.